Potential
by annabel-lee1
Summary: COMPLETE * One sister has strengthened her powers, another feels like a failure. But the Power of Three will be needed to vanquish a dark foe.
1. Progression

"Hey, Piper, check it out," Paige said as her oldest sister walked into the kitchen. "Watch this." Paige looked fixedly at Piper's neck, and suddenly Piper's necklace disappeared in a swirl of orbs, reappearing in Paige's outstretched hand.

Piper's eyes widened in surprise. "Paige! That's awesome! You didn't have to call for it!"

Paige beamed. "Just wait -- it gets better." She closed her eyes, a look of determination on her face, hands outstretched. "Phoebe's pen," she whispered. A moment later, blue orbs circled around Paige's hand, clearing to reveal a pen with the words "Ask Phoebe" in gold lettering on the side. 

"Hey!" came a yelp from upstairs. "What the --" Phoebe came running down the stairs and into the kitchen, and pointed accusingly at the pen in Paige's hand. "You!" Piper and Paige looked at each other and dissolved into giggles.

"Excuse me, but I'm trying to write a column here. What is going _on_ here?" demanded Phoebe.

"Paige can orb things without calling them and without seeing them, that's what's going on here," Piper explained.

Phoebe's jaw dropped. "You can? Since when?"

"Since today. I've been working on it for a while," Paige said. "After the Crone stole my voice, I realized how vulnerable my power was, so I worked on calling things in my mind, instead of out loud. And I've been trying to orb things I can't see for a long time. Remember when the Muse was here, and I orbed that ring from a drawing?"

Her sisters nodded. "Well, I wondered why I couldn't do that on my own. So I'd been working on it on and off for almost a year, but I didn't really spend serious time on it until the last couple of months. I can't do anything too heavy yet -- I started with a cotton ball and worked my way up to a pair of shoes -- and so far I can only do it when I know where the object is. But I'm still working on it. It doesn't look like I'm getting any new powers any time soon, and I'm guessing my Whitelighter half won't let me have any cool destructive powers like making stuff explode like Piper here does, so I figure I better get the most out of what I've got."

"I am im-_pressed_, Paige," Piper said, and Paige basked in the approval.

"Sweetie, that's great," Phoebe agreed. "Very, very cool. But I do have a column to write, so could I have my pen back, please?" Paige handed it over with a smile.

* * *

Piper entered her bedroom and saw Andy, Prue's late ex-boyfriend and Wyatt's whitelighter, standing across the room from the baby's crib. "Hi, Andy," she said. He seemed not to hear her, as his attention was focused on Wyatt. Suddenly, Wyatt's energy shield flared up. Piper gasped, looking around in alarm.

"Good job!" Andy said. "Sorry, Piper, we were working."

"You were -- what? What's going on? Why is his shield up? Who's here?"

"Relax," Andy said, crossing the room to calm Piper as Wyatt's shield receded. "Nobody's here, nothing's wrong. Wyatt knows to put up his shield when somebody says there's danger. I'm training him to put it up if I send him the _thought_ that danger is nearby. Whitelighters are very empathetic, that's how they tune into their charges. That kind of empathy is pretty close to telepathy, so this is the next logical step. This way, even if it's dangerous to talk -- or if I'm somehow not with him -- I can send him a thought to make him put up the shield."

"Wow," Piper marveled. "Can only a Whitelighter send him that kind of warning?"

"Phoebe should be able to send him a premonition of danger. And you have the closest bond to him, being his mother, so you should be able to as well. And Paige, Leo, and I have all got the Whitelighter thing. So any one of us should be able to warn him if it's necessary."

"Well, you are just the best-protectedest little thing there ever was, aren't you," Piper cooed, lifting her son up from him crib. He smiled happily at her, waving his arms.

Twinkling orbs announced Leo's entrance into the room. "Piper," he said in a worried voice.

Andy looked startled as he turned toward Leo. Wordless communication passed between the two Whitelighters, and the look on Andy's face turned to horror. "Oh, no."

Leo swallowed hard and nodded. "Book of Shadows. There isn't much time."

"There never is," Piper sighed. "Paige! Phoebe! Attic!"


	2. Problems

"Elders are dying," Leo said. "They're just...dying, and nobody knows why."

"What do you mean?" asked Paige.

"Elders don't die by natural means. They can retire, pass on their powers to a newly-appointed Elder and then transcend, but they don't just _die_. But in the past three hours, three of them have suddenly dropped dead while they're Up There, and then vanished. Right in front of other Elders. Nothing like this has ever happened before," Leo said, in a broken voice. In his hands he held a piece of golden fabric, which he'd been mindlessly wrapping around his fingers as he spoke. Phoebe looked questioningly at it. "Oh - when the third Elder died, another Elder who was standing nearby grabbed hold of his robe, and when the body disappeared, he held on tightly enough that the robe tore." Leo set the torn shred on the stand that held the Book of Shadows.

Piper squeezed his hand, and said, "Well, let's see if the Book has anything on demons who kill Elders without being seen."

As she reached for the Book of Shadows, the pages started turning themselves. "Grams, thanks," Piper whispered, as the Book settled on a page titled "Benecaedus." Piper read from the entry, "Benecaedus: An upper-level demon who kills beings of good magic to create evil portals. Each time he is awakened, he kills five beings and summons their bodies to his lair, which is cloaked in dark magic, and arranges them in the shape of a pentagram. When the pentagram is completed, a portal opens, unleashing great evil on the world, including the last Ice Age, and most recently, the Spanish Inquisition. He has never been vanquished but was greatly weakened during the Inquisition by a powerful coven of witches who cursed him into his lair and then hid it from even dark magic so he could not be awakened again."

"Looks like someone managed to get him a wake-up call anyway," commented Paige. "No vanquish, huh?" Piper shook her head. "Alright, so he's killed three Elders in three hours, which optimistically gives us two hours before he unleashes..._whatever_ on the world. Piper, you get started on the strongest generic vanquishing potion you can make without a piece of his flesh; Phoebe, you get started on a Power of Three spell; and I'll try to find a way to summon him here or get us there, wherever 'there' is."

Piper and Paige hurried out of the room; Piper was already mentally preparing the vanquish recipe as she walked toward the kitchen, and Paige retreated to her room to study previous summoning spells she'd written or come across.

Phoebe and Leo were still in the attic. Phoebe looking uncommonly solemn. "Are you okay, Leo?" she asked her brother-in-law.

He nodded, lips pursed tightly together. He closed his eyes briefly. "I'm going to go check on Wyatt and Andy," he said. He left the attic, and Phoebe stood alone in the middle of the room, looking around uncertainly. She walked over to the Book of Shadows and picked up the torn piece of the Elder's robe. She closed her eyes, willing a premonition with all her might.

Nothing happened. Sighing, she returned the piece of fabric to the stand and crossed the room to get to work on the vanquishing spell.

* * *

"Darn it!" Paige muttered as the tip of her pencil snapped off. She was sprawled out on her bed, writing in a notebook. She glanced at the cup of pens on her desk and grinned. "Let's see..." She turned, facing away from the desk, closed her eyes, and pictured a pen she'd seen in the cup. Without a word, she focused on calling the pen with her mind, and chuckled gleefully when she felt it orb into her hand. "Yes! I am _so_ cool. Okay, then, one super summoning spell, coming right up."

She read over the first few rough lines she'd written, but stopped short when she realized that she was hearing the words in her mind, the way she heard the names of items she called for without speaking aloud.

"Not a good idea, Paige. Let's _not_ summon the demon by ourself, especially without anything for a vanquish." She paused. "And while we're at it, let's stop talking to ourself in plural, shall we?" Rolling her eyes at herself, she absently twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she continued working on her summoning spell. Fully focused on the task at hand, she didn't realize that nearly half an hour had passed until she heard a muffled curse from upstairs.


	3. Pity

"Damn it!" Phoebe sighed in exasperation. "Damn damn damn damn DAMN!" Paige started to run up the stairs to the attic, when through the open door she saw Leo orb in.

"Phoebe? What's wrong?" he asked gently.

She jumped. "Leo!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. But I could sense your frustration." He paused. "And even Wyatt could hear you swearing."

"Oh!" Phoebe clapped a hand over her mouth. "I didn't think -- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to corrupt his cute little ears." Furtively, she wiped her hand across her eyes, but Leo caught the gesture.

"Were you crying?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"No, I just -- never mind," she cut herself off.

"Phoebe, I'm your Whitelighter. You can tell me, whatever it is."

She drew a deep breath. "You've got enough on your mind, you don't need my petty complaints."

"Since when do you self-censor your petty complaints?" Leo asked.

"Since they became embarrassing because of what a failure I am," she admitted sheepishly.

Leo looked at her quizically. "What are you talking about?"

Phoebe stared miserably at the floor. "Paige has been at this for two years, and she's figured out how to build up her powers and stretch them as far as she possibly can. And I heard Andy telling Wyatt what a good boy he was for putting his shield up in response to a telepathic danger warning. Even the _baby_ is learning to strengthen his powers." Her voice, already trembling, grew more ragged as the tears spilled out. "I've been a witch for five years and I still can't even get a premonition on demand! I've been through like twenty drafts of this vanquishing spell and I can't get one that's powerful enough, and I can't get a vision of what might happen to the Elders, and I'm just -- I'm just a failure, Leo, and I'm letting you guys all down."

"Oh, Phoebe." Leo gave his sister-in-law a hug. "You're not a failure. And you'll only let us down if you stop trying. Your powers will progress at your own rate, not at Paige's, not at Wyatt's. You can't expect your power to grow on its own -- you have to work on it, the same way you worked on all those martial arts moves. You can't take your abilities for granted -- your powers or your spells. But you _can_ do this. I know you can. You need to stay calm and focus your emotions and your energy. Now take a deep breath, good, and let it out. Again, deep breath, and let it out. Okay. You can do this. You need to believe that, you need to know it completely, alright?"

Phoebe nodded slowly. "But what if --"

"No. No what-ifs. Now get to work, you've got a vanquish to write." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Come on. I have faith in you." Leo guided Phoebe to the chair. "We can work on your premonitions another time, I promise. But right now, it's your ability to write spells that we need the most. And there's no way I can help you with that -- you have all the power you need, in your head and in your heart. Just trust that, trust yourself, and the words will come, and the power will be there."

She nodded. "Okay." She looked up at him, and gave him a shy smile as she brushed away a few lingering tears. "I don't say this...um, ever, but -- thank you, Leo."

He smiled back at her. "You're welcome. Are you gonna be okay here?"

She closed her eyes briefly, then looked at him again. "Yes."

"Good. I've got to check on your sisters. But call if you need me, okay? You're not alone, you know that."

"I know. Thanks."

He orbed out, leaving her with thoughts swirling through her mind. Gripping her pen, she started to write.


	4. Purity

Paige orbed back into her room, heart pounding. She was stunned by Phoebe's revelations -- she would never have guessed that her middle sister felt inadequate. "I thought that was my job," Paige said to herself wryly. Her musings were interrupted by a swirl of orbs.

"Paige?"

"Leo! How are you holding up?"

He gave a sad smile. "I've been better." He was surprised when his youngest sister-in-law gave him a gentle hug.

"I'm so sorry. This must be so awful for you. But we'll get this Benecaedus, and between Piper's potion and Phoebe's spell, he's gonna be one sorry demon." She brushed a lock of red hair out of her eyes. "The summoning spell's done. Have you checked in with the other two?" she asked innocently.

"Phoebe's still working on the vanquishing spell. I haven't talked to Piper yet, though," Leo told her.

"Should I go see if Phoebe needs any help? You know, someone to bounce ideas off?" Paige inquired.

Leo shook his head. "No, I think she's got it. She told me you've been working on your powers, though."

Paige grinned. "Oh yeah. It's like exercising -- my powers started out like a 98-pound-weakling, but they're going to be the Incredible Hulk by the time I'm through!" Leo smiled back at her.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Well, if you're all done here, let's go see how Piper's doing."

* * *

"Alright, let's see what happens if I --" BOOM! As Piper dropped in the wolfsbane, the simmering potion exploded loudly. When the smoke cleared, Piper was amazed to see a brilliantly white fireball suspended above the pot. "That's different," she said to herself, as she backed up from the stove. Afraid to jostle the pot, or even make too much noise, lest she disturb the fireball, she said softly, "Leo?" Her husband orbed into the kitchen with Paige. Piper tilted her head toward the fireball, still motionless several inches above the potion. Arching her eyebrows, she looked quizically at him.

"Whoa," whispered Paige.

Leo looked startled. "I don't -- I didn't think -- I mean..." He trailed off, apparently speechless.

"Honey? Do you know what it is?" Piper asked. Her eyes narrowed. "Honey, are you okay?"

"Piper, that's a Font fireball," he breathed, his eyes wide.

"It's a what?" Piper asked, echoing Paige's thought.

"It's a pure white fireball, from the Font."

"Oookay, what's the Font?" Piper said, looking confused.

"The Font of Goodness," Leo explained. "Just like there's a Source of All Evil, there's a Font of Goodness. It's hidden away, beyond the mortal realm, but it's the source of all good magic. Your powers come from it, and every time you use your powers for good, you strengthen the power of the Font."

"'Font' like 'fountain'?" Paige interrupted. "Then what's it doing with a fireball?"

"The Font doesn't flow with water, it flows with power, in the form of light. That way, when a mortal is given power, or a power boost, the Font can reach him or her at the speed of light. Sometimes the power will come as just an extra-bright bit of sunlight, but the Font also produces these fireballs. The border of the Font is actually a chain of these fireballs. They contain a concentrated amount of power, and just from their glow they radiate power." Leo looked at each of them seriously. "The Font has a consciousness, an awareness. It's linked to every good magical being in the world. It must have seen how pure your intentions were, and realized that the Power of Three needed a boost to vanquish Benecaedus. So it sent you the fireball."

Piper was mesmerized. "So what do I do with it?"

"Take it in your hands," Leo said. Piper gingerly reached out and cupped the fireball in her hands, which glowed briefly for a moment. Then the fireball faded away. Piper turned to her husband in astonishment.

"Don't worry, that's what it does," he assured her. "It will be there when you need it."

"Cool! Lucky you. Maybe I was at least close enough to catch a little of that radiance," Paige said. She noticed a bit of water on the counter, and held out her hand to orb a rag over to clean it up.

"Uh, Paige, I wouldn't be too jealous if I were you," Piper said.

"Huh? _Oh,_" said Paige, when she looked down at her hand and saw not only the rag she'd orbed, but also a white fireball hovering above it. "Piper, could you take the rag, please?" Piper did, and Paige cautiously brought her hands close around the fireball. As Piper's had, it brightened momentarily and made her hands glow, then faded away.

"Oh -- oh -- Leo!" came Phoebe's voice from upstairs. The three in the kitchen jumped. Paige grabbed Piper's hand and they and Leo orbed to the attic.


	5. Panic

"Leo?" Phoebe said tremulously. Her sisters and brother-in-law orbed in. Phoebe was shrinking as far back in her chair as she could, and third Font fireball hovered inches in front of her. "Um, help?" 

"It's okay, Phoebe," Leo said, and explained to her about the Font. 

She nodded, still looking apprehensive. "So, I just..." She reached out her hands as Leo had described, and as the ball glowed and disappeared, Phoebe gasped. Recognizing the sign of a premonition, her sisters waited until Phoebe's consciousness returned to the attic. 

"It was...I saw -- it must have been the Font, I think. A fountain with light flowing through it instead of water, and a border made entirely of those white fireballs. And --" 

"And what, Phoebe? What happened?" Leo asked, not unkindly. 

"The whole thing got sucked into the ground. Like a vortex or something," Phoebe finished, looking ashen. 

"Or maybe not a vortex, but a portal?" Paige suggested. "Like the one Benecaedus is trying to make." 

Leo paled. "That's what he's trying to do -- pull the Font into a portal of evil, which would destroy all good magic in the world. Phoebe, have you finished the vanquishing spell?" She nodded. 

"Okay, then --" Leo cut himself off abruptly, looking up at the ceiling. After a moment, he closed his eyes and bowed his head. 

Piper approached him, putting an arm around him tenderly. "What happened?" 

Leo turned to her, his eyes threatening tears. "Another Elder." 

"So," said Paige, "I'd say it's time we do this vanquish, huh?" 

The Charmed Ones quickly set up candles and a crystal cage. "Summoning spell?" Piper inquired. 

"Check," said Paige, holding up a piece of paper. 

"Three vials of potion, check," Piper continued. "Vanquishing spell?" "Check," Phoebe answered, vaguely gesturing to the notebook in her hand. 

"Okay, then, let's go." Paige lit the candles, and the sisters stood together to read the summoning spell. 

_Although by evil magic hid,  
Our voices and our powers bid  
Benecaedus in this hour  
is summoned by the Charmed Ones' power._

They repeated the spell three times, and suddenly the crystals began to glow. A moment later, a howling demon flamed in, and the crystals flared up, imprisoning him. "WHO DARES SUMMON ME?" he bellowed. 

"The Charmed Ones. And that's not all we're gonna do. But first -- who awakened you?" "I DO NOT ANSWER TO _WITCHES_!" Benecaedus roared. 

"Yeah, ya do," Piper said, as she casually exploded his left hand. The demon shrieked in pain. 

"SHE WILL OUTLAST YOU, EVEN WITHOUT MY PORTAL!" cried Benecaedus. 

"Uh, Piper, he's really strong and the crystals are starting to fade," Paige whispered urgently. 

"Alright, let's vanquish his sorry ass. C'mon." 

Phoebe stood in the middle this time, and the sisters read together: 

_Smiter of good, Unleasher of evil,  
The portal you open now pulls you inside  
All your destruction now comes to destroy you  
A thousand deaths for each life that because of you, died._  


The demon's howling grew even louder, as a whirlwind began in the attic. 

"Again!" yelled Phoebe, above the growing din. 

_Smiter of good, Unleasher of evil,_

Piper threw her vial of potion at the demon's feet. 

_The portal you open now pulls you inside_

Paige tossed her vial into the crystal cage. 

_All your destruction now comes to destroy you_

Phoebe heaved her vial as hard as she could at the demon 

_A thousand deaths for each life that because of you, died._

The whirlwind picked up speed, spinning the trapped demon faster and faster until a portal opened, and sucked him inside. "NOOOOO!" he cried out, until the sound was abruptly cut off as the portal closed. 

Phoebe let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her body was trembling, her mind filled with only one thought: What if her spell hadn't worked? She'd poured all her strength into it, and had carefully imbued the crystals, but they had barely held. If her spell had required a third repetition, Benecaedus might have broken free. Overwhelmed by the fear that thought instilled, she swayed slightly and sank into the chair. 

Piper and Paige were busy conferring with Leo. "He said 'She' would outlast us. But who? We vanquished the Crone already, and we vanquished the Seer ages ago...We haven't met any other evil women that powerful, have we?" Piper asked her youngest sister. 

"No, I can't think of any," Paige agreed. "How weird. You'd think if there were someone that powerful, we'd know about her. Pheebs?" 

At that moment, Paige and Piper realized that Phoebe was no longer standing next to them. They saw her sitting in the chair. "Pheebs, you okay?" Paige asked. 

Phoebe didn't seem to hear them, lost in her thoughts. "I --" she started, and then her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped down in the chair.


	6. Premonitions

"Phoebe!" cried out Piper. "Leo, can you heal her?"

Leo was already kneeling beside Phoebe's chair, his hands held up to her face. But instead of the familiar healing glow, nothing happened. "I don't think she's injured, so there isn't anything I can heal. It's like she fainted, but she's not waking up."

"Smelling salts!" said Paige, and smelling salts orbed into her hand.

"Where did those come from?" Piper asked, surprised.

"No idea," said Paige, "but I figured it was worth a shot." She crushed the salts and held them under Phoebe's nose as Leo continued focusing his healing power on her, but Phoebe didn't react at all.

"What do we do? What -- what do we _do_?" Piper asked urgently.

Leo finally stood up. "I don't know if there's anything we _can_ do, Piper. I think we have to just wait and see." Piper looked stricken. "She'll wake up. I'm sure she'll wake up," Leo told her.

"Is she okay?" Paige asked. "I mean, was she okay before this?"

With a small sigh, Leo answered, "She's feeling a lot of stress right now, because she thinks she's not living up to her potential as a witch. And she feels like she's failing you, and falling behind."

Piper shook her head. "Oh, Phoebe..." she said softly.

* * *

Phoebe was seeing visions, but they were unlike any premonition she had ever had. Flashes of scenes tumbled before her, one after another, like a whirling kaleidoscope of images.

Demons, unhidden, in the streets of San Francisco.

Mortals dying, the pain visibile on their faces.

Demons blowing up houses.

Demons blowing up people.

People screaming.

Phoebe was overwhelmed, unable to catch her breath. Each vision appeared so quickly, and she barely had time to register it before it disappeared and was replaced by the next one.

A demon sending a schoolbus over a cliff.

A demon vaporizing everyone at a busy intersection.

Demons inciting riots.

Demons flaming out, leaving scenes of complete destruction in their wake.

As Phoebe's sense of horror grew, she tried to grip something -- anything -- tightly with her hands, to have something to hold onto. But her body seemed out of reach -- she seemed to have no corporeal form in this dizzying montage of premonitions.

Demons meeting in a room like Cole's penthouse.

Demons flaming into the Underworld.

Demons entering the chamber where the coronations of Sources occurred.

A dark sense of foreboding filled her mind, as the whirlwind of images suddenly stopped, and this one image continued.

More and more demons appeared in the chamber, and each demon fell to its knees upon entering. They surrounded a dais in the middle of the chamber, on which there was a throne. Phoebe could see the back of the throne, but the throne itself was high enough to block her view of whomever was seated upon it.

One demon separated himself from the crowd by standing up and approaching the throne. "Your orders have been carried out. They are here." He gestured, and a cage appeared, very like the one in which Phoebe had been trapped with her sisters just before they vanquished the Seer and her legions in that very chamber.

The cage spun around, and Phoebe's mind reeled when she saw who was inside it: Piper and Paige.

Her point of view began to shift, and she was seeing the scene from different angles, as if she were walking along the perimeter of the chamber. She kept her focus on her sisters, until a voice startled her. A woman's voice, cold and chilling, with horrific undertones as she said a single word: "Good."

Phoebe's focus turned at the sound of that voice, and she saw the figure seated upon the throne. "Oh no," she whispered, as her body shuddered uncontrollably.

* * *

"Leo, look at her! She's convulsing! Why won't she wake up? Why can't you wake her up?" The pain in Piper's voice cut Leo to the quick.

"I'm sorry," he began, when Paige cut him off.

"Look!" she cried out, pointing at Phoebe, whose eyes had flown open. "Phoebe? Sweetie, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Paige said, already at her side.

"No, no, no, no, no...It can't be, it can't be real, _she_ can't be real, it isn't possible," Phoebe moaned softly, unaware of her sister.

"Pheebs? Come on, honey, it's okay, you're awake now," Piper said, reaching out to squeeze Phoebe's arm.

"No!" Phoebe jerked her arm away violently, then blinked as she realized her surroundings.

"Phoebe?" asked Piper in a hurt voice.

"Piper...I thought you were --" Phoebe let out a long shuddering breath, glancing around the attic. "I'm in the attic. What just happened?"

"We vanquished Benecaedus -- that was a hell of a spell, by the way -- and then you fainted or something. You've been out cold for almost twenty minutes," Paige informed her.

"I -- I fainted? Do people dream when they faint?" asked Phoebe.

Leo looked puzzled. "I don't know," he admitted. "What did you dream?"

"Nothing," said Phoebe sharply. "Nothing at all."

"Phoebe, when you first woke up, you said 'She can't be real.' Who is 'she'?" Piper asked.

"Nobody. I told you, it was nothing," Phoebe insisted.

Paige gave her a look. "Phoebe, when we were vanquishing Benecaedus, he said 'She will outlast you.' We have no idea who he meant. The only powerful female demons we've come across were the Seer and the Crone, and we've vanquished both of them. If you had a dream -- or, say, a premonition -- with a woman you thought couldn't be real, you need to tell us who it was. Phoebe, what did you see?"

"I saw...utter devastation. Scene after scene of demonic destruction," Phoebe said slowly. "And then I was in the Source's chamber. And you two were in a magic cage again. And then I saw the throne..." Phoebe's voice trailed off.

"Who was it? Who are we up against, Phoebe?" Piper asked.

In a very small voice, Phoebe answered.

"It was me."


	7. Pleas

"What??"

"Why would you --"

"You're not evil --"

"Are you sure --"

Piper and Paige hit Phoebe with a barrage of unanswerable questions. She sat limply in the chair, her face covered by her hands. Leo lifted his hand to quiet them, but neither of the sisters noticed. Finally, Leo shouted, "Stop!" All three sisters turned to him in surprise. "Phoebe's just been through an awful experience. Attacking her and putting her on the defensive is not going to help. Piper, Paige, you two get started on all the defensive and protection spells you can find. Phoebe," and here his voice grew noticeably gentler, "I think you and I should have a talk, okay?" Phoebe nodded, weeping softly, and allowed Leo to help her up from the chair and guide her to her room.

Phoebe sat on the bed, hugging a pillow tightly. Leo looked at her seriously. "First of all, I think you need this," he said, and gave her a warm hug. She gave him a tight smile in return, still too overwrought to speak.

"Now, listen to me," Leo said. "You are a good witch."

"But I'm going to turn evil again!" Phoebe cut in.

"_Listen_ to me," Leo said again. "You are a _good_ witch. You're a good _person_. Most of the premonitions you get are warnings to stop something from happening, and this is no different. This was probably just a reminder that you need to be on guard."

"But how come it's always _me_ who turns evil?" Phoebe asked pitifully, sniffling.

"It isn't," Leo reminded her. "Paige became a vampire, Piper's been a Fury..."

"But --"

"Phoebe. Everyone has a dark side. You were born in this house, on the Nexus, and so you're more easily influenced toward one side or the other than your sisters. That's not an excuse, it's a fact. All it means is that you have to be more vigilant. You have to think about what you're going to do, consider the consequences, and decide if it's what you really want to do. But when it comes down to it, you can't blame the Nexus, or fate, or anything else -- or any_one_ else -- for your actions. That's what free will is all about -- you're the one who chooses what you do, and you're the one who has to take responsibility for your actions. You have to remember that what you do affects others, but ultimately the choice is yours." Leo reached out to touch Phoebe's arm, to show her that this was brotherly concern, not a scolding, but Phoebe pulled back and turned away.

Leo sighed. "Phoebe, you're angry with me, I know. But deep down, you know that this is the truth. The two things you need to focus on are that you are good, and you have all the strength you need to stay that way."

"What if I'm already evil, Leo?" Phoebe said quietly. "That's my biggest fear, that I'm really evil inside, and no matter how hard I fight it, the evil will win out in the end."

"Phoebe, you were sent a fireball from the Font of Goodness. Trust me, the Font doesn't make mistakes. It knows you're good. And so do I," Leo said comfortingly. "The fireball boosted your power, that's probably why you got that wild ride of premonitions. You've changed your future in dramatic ways before, and you can do it again."

Phoebe looked pensive. "Will you help me? Will you warn me if you think I'm on that path?"

"Of course," Leo assured her. "But I can only help if you let me. I'm going to need you to talk to me, check in with me. You have a bad dream, I want to know about it. You have a premonition of yourself throwing fire, I want to know. You daydream about being the Queen of the Underworld, I want to know. Don't shut me out."

"I won't. I promise," Phoebe answered.

Suddenly, Leo jumped up. "Piper! And Paige! Something's happened, come on!" Grabbing Phoebe's hand, he orbed them to the attic.

But the attic was empty. The only movement was a scrap of paper wafting slowly to the floor.

"Piper! Paige!" Phoebe yelled her sisters' names as loudly as she could.

"I can't sense them," Leo said anxiously.

Phoebe shook her head. "No, no, no, I did NOT just lose two more sisters!"

"They're not necessarily -- they could be in the underworld. Or -- I don't know." Leo picked up the piece of paper that had fallen. "It looks like they were in mid-sentence -- mid-word, even."

Phoebe took the paper and read it quickly. It was nothing more than Piper and Paige's notes: "Benecaedus -- 'she' -- Phoebe as Queen?? -- past/fut"

Tears running down her face, Phoebe gripped the paper tightly. She looked up at the ceiling. "C'mon, please, if you're _ever_ going to give me a premonition when I ask for it, give me one now. _Please_, I have to save my sisters!"

As if in response to her impassioned plea, visions once again filled Phoebe's mind.


	8. Power

Once again, Phoebe could see the Source's coronation chamber. In a magic cage, as she had seen before, were Piper and Paige, their lips moving inaudibly. And on the throne, Phoebe herself reclined. "The Power of Three won't set you free this time. Haven't you figured it out yet? It all comes down to the Power of One. _This_ one." The Phoebe on the throne drew her hand back, and Phoebe wrenched herself out of the premonition, gasping.

"I couldn't watch -- she -- I -- was going to kill them with a fireball," she blurted out.

Leo trembled slightly, then forced himself to put on a calm face for the sake of his sister-in-law. "Phoebe, was this a premonition of the future, or has it already happened?"

"It's the future. But I'm afraid it's the very near future. Let me -- I need..." She trailed off, grabbing the Book of Shadows, her notebook, and a pen. She scribbled a few lines, crossed things out, wrote a bit more. "Leo, I don't know if this is going to work...but it's the best I've got."

"What are you planning to do?" he asked.

"I'm going to inhabit my future self, like I did when I was burned at the stake."

Leo gaped. "But Phoebe, that could let your future self -- the Queen of the Underworld -- inhabit your body here!"

"Then I'll put myself in a crystal cage before I say the spell. I don't think there's any other way to do this, Leo. We don't have much time," she reminded him unnecessarily.

"Alright," Leo agreed, against his better judgment. "Just --"

She looked at him questioningly.

"Just be careful, okay?" Leo said in an emotional voice.

"I will be," she answered, already beginning to imbue the crystals. When the cage was nearly ready, she sat down inside it and directed Leo to put the last crystal in place. She read aloud from her spell:

_Hear these words, let time unwind  
So my present self will find  
Through time and space to what I see  
To inhabit a self that's yet to be.  
_

Phoebe's body slumped forward in the cage, and when she opened her eyes, she was once again back in the Source's coronation chamber. But this time, the picture was in full color, not black and white, and she realized that she was now seated on the throne. She could hear her own voice, filling the cavernous room, "Didn't you expect this? I have betrayed you in past lifetimes. This one is only different because this is the supreme betrayal -- I will kill you myself, and tip the scales forever toward evil." As Phoebe felt herself settle into her body, her future consciousness -- present consciousness? she resolved not to think about tenses -- felt her arrival and fought her desperately. But Phoebe was prepared for this, though it hadn't happened the last time she'd traveled to the future. "Last time, I wasn't completely evil, even if I did premonition someone to death," she reminded herself. Then, in her mind, she recited the spell she'd memorized:

_I am light  
I am one too strong to fight  
Return to dark, where evils dwell  
You cannot be this Halliwell.  
_

Phoebe's evil consciousness fought her, but Phoebe drew on the strength from the Font fireball, and with a repetition of the spell, she felt the other consciousness forced out of her body. Alone in her body, Phoebe became aware of the incredible power she wielded in this future. With a shock, she realized she was holding a fireball -- bigger and more powerful than any she'd created the last time she was the Queen of the Underworld. The thrill of power momentarily overwhelmed her, until she heard Leo's voice echoing in her mind, "You are a good witch. You're a good _person_." With an almost imperceptible shudder, she snuffed out the fireball.

A demon, clearly one of her more obsequious minions, noticed what she'd done. "My Queen, perhaps you would like me to destroy them, while you enjoy the spectacle?"

In a bored, languid voice, she answered, "Perhaps you would like to be silent until you're spoken to...?" The demon hastily retreated, dropping to his knees.

"There's no sport in killing them with all of you here to defend me, should I need defending. I want to do this _myself_," Phoebe declared. "Leave us." A surprised murmur went through the room. "Leave us!" Phoebe bellowed. The demons blinked, shimmered, and flamed out.

Phoebe got off the throne and gestured to the cage, lowering it to the floor. "Let me just figure out how to open this thing," she said to herself.

"You do and I'll explode you!" Piper cried out.

"Piper! It's me," Phoebe said in shock.

"Like hell it is," Piper said bitterly.

"Piper, I traveled to the future -- this future -- to save you guys," insisted Phoebe.

"Don't give me that," Piper snarled. "You've had demons tossing energy balls in here for sport."

"I just got here -- about 10 seconds ago. When I extinguished the fireball."

"Then why didn't ya let us out then so we coulda killed all those demons?" Paige demanded.

"Because if I'd freed you, they would have killed all of us before we had a chance to do anything," Phoebe answered. Paige looked thoughtful, but Piper remained unconvinced. "Look, I have the spell you two will need to get home. I'm writing it down, see," with a flick of her wrist, Phoebe made a pen and paper appear, and began writing, "and I'm putting it in the cage now." She did, and Piper eyed it suspiciously. 

Paige grabbed it and read it, and showed it to Piper, who shrugged. "You've always been good at writing spells. That's no guarantee you'll let us use it."

"Fine, trust me or don't, I've still gotta get you out of the freakin' cage," Phoebe muttered. She waved her hand toward the cage, and the bars obligingly dissolved.

Piper flicked her hand toward Phoebe, who had covered her face with her hands.


	9. Purpose

After a beat, Phoebe fearfully spread her fingers apart. "Piper?"

"Good witches don't freeze," Piper whispered, crying. Phoebe ran to her and Paige, and the sisters embraced.

"'Kay, how about we reunion later and get out of here now?" Paige suggested.

"Good idea. Pheebs, how are you getting home?" Piper inquired.

"I've got a separate spell, since my current -- um, past -- oh whatever. The body I'm used to is in the attic, that's what I'm trying to say," Phoebe explained.

Piper and Paige nodded. "Makes sense," said Paige. "Why don't you go first, and we'll follow?"

"No," responded Phoebe, "you guys should go first." "But then we'd be leaving you alone. What if you need a Power of 3 boost?" Paige asked.

"I don't. But you might -- I tweaked this from when Grams wrote it for us, but you might still need me. Besides..." Phoebe trailed off.

"_What_," said Piper, in a tone that was more a command than a question.

"...Besides, I'm not entirely sure I can get back alive. But I _think_ it'll work," Phoebe continued breathlessly, at her sisters' worried looks. "And you guys can always 'Call a Lost Witch' when you get home if I don't show up. Plus, those demons are going to be back here soon, and if they catch you out of the cage without me here, that's not gonna be good."

"Don't waste any time, sis," instructed Paige.

"I won't. Don't you, either!" Phoebe replied.

Piper and Paige began reading the spell Phoebe had written for them:

_Two witches moved by evil  
Through time and through space  
This future no longer before us,  
Now restore us  
To our rightful place.  
_

A swirl of white orbs surrounded them, then faded away, leaving nothing. "Oh, thank G-d," Phoebe whispered. "Okay, my turn. Here goes nothing..."

_Remove the chains of time and space  
And make my spirit soar  
Let these mortal arms embrace  
The life that haunts before.  
_

Nothing happened. Phoebe could feel her evil consciousness just on the edges of her perception. She could feel, rather than hear, the vicious, taunting laughter.

"Okay, how about this..."

_In this time and in this place,  
Destroy the spirit I displaced  
Return me to those I hold most dear  
Send me home, leave nothing here  
_

Again, nothing. "Strike two," Phoebe muttered. The evil consciousness was moving in closer, getting stronger. "Third time's the charm, right?"

_Evil soul I once embraced  
I choose now a different time and place  
You cannot sap my will to fight  
For goodness fills me with its light  
If I die with you, so it be  
Your evil cannot conquer me  
Death takes your future with this spell  
You cannot be this Halliwell!  
_

For a moment, nothing happened, as the two consciousnesses struggled for control. Demons began returning to the Chamber, and looked on in confusion as their Queen stood before the empty cage, jerking back and forth, as if fighting an unseen enemy. Phoebe knew she didn't have enough strength to repeat the spell while fighting her evil consciousness. "I won't let her win," Phoebe thought. "I won't let my sisters or Leo down like that." Suddenly, a brilliant white light overwhelmed her. In a final conscious moment, she thought to herself, "Heaven's a white light, that must be why they call them..."

* * *

In the attic, Leo, Piper, and Paige watched silently. The crystals had flared up when Phoebe had displaced her evil consciousness shortly after she'd left, and the torturous screams had been almost unbearable for Leo. When Piper and Paige returned, he had hugged each of them tightly, but still kept a wary eye on the figure in the crystal cage.

Without warning, the screaming had stopped, and the crystals had died down. "Phoebe?" asked Piper urgently.

"She's not there, honey," Leo told her. "This is how she was at first, when she left but before her evil self came in."

Piper and Paige held hands tightly. Although Leo was Piper's husband, in these moments of horror while she silently begged all the Higher Powers she could think of to return her sister safely, she needed the comfort that only another sister could provide.

"We won't lose her," Paige said. "She'll come back to us. She's strong, stronger than even she realizes."

"...Whitelighters," came a weak whisper.

"Phoebe!" cried Piper joyously. Paige was already removing the crystals, leaning in to give her middle sister a gentle hug. Piper joined her, and together they carefully lifted Phoebe up and sat her on the worn leather chair.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Paige brushed a lock of hair out of Phoebe's face with concern.

"Yeah, I think so," Phoebe said, sounding tired. She described what had happened. "I couldn't beat her, vanquish her, until I accepted out loud that I once wanted to be her. And more importantly, that I didn't want that anymore, that I had faith in my own goodness."

Leo smiled at her. "I'm proud of you. You were very brave, and very strong."

"Thanks, Leo," she answered with a smile.

"Hey -- what were you saying about Whitelighters, when you first woke up?" Piper asked, curious.

Phoebe blinked, and then remembered what she'd feared had been her final thought. "Oh...I saw a white light, and I figured out that's why they call them Whitelighters."

Paige gave her a look. "You're just figuring this out now?"

"What, you expected me to have a deep, philosophical last thought? All I could think about was how much I loved you guys, and how I couldn't let evil Phoebe come here...and then there was the white light! Whaddya want from me, huh?" Phoebe said, hitting Paige playfully.

Unnoticed by any of the four living beings in the attic, the Book of Shadows glowed briefly. Had someone looked through it, she would have seen a new spell: "How to Vanquish an Inner Demon."

THE END


End file.
